Photo: SunDawn · CC BY-SA 4.0Parachute’s household incomes are lower than in 76% of U.S. towns
Only 8% stay in Parachute for work; outside it, Glenwood Springs is the main destination (13%, 39 miles). 27.5% of residents live below the poverty line, where Colorado as a whole has 9.4%. Parachute grades D− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Parachute
Parachute’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Parachute is Glenwood Springs, 39 miles away as the crow flies. 13% of working residents (79) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Parachute workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 37 minutes each way, against 25 across Colorado. Over a year that’s about 284 hours of commuting, 92 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
34% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 632 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How Parachute earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Parachute is better than 4% of U.S. towns. Household income holds Parachute’s grade up ($58,778, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate pulls it down.
Unemployment (18.7%) is left out: Parachute’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Parachute could be anywhere from D− to C−.
Where in the region Parachute works
About 34% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The trip to work from Parachute: about 37 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Parachute workers work from home, vs 21% across Colorado. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 475 commuters (the 15% who work from home are left out). Across Colorado: 82% drive alone, 2% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
In and out of Parachute on a workday
On a workday 582 residents head out to work, 50 work right here, and 583 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.00 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Out of Parachute to work: where people go
Where Parachute clocks in
13% of workers
11% of workers
8% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Parachute works in goods: 40% of its jobs
633 jobs are based in Parachute.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Parachute, 2013 → 2023: 549 → 633. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Parachute’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting around Parachute: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Parachute is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 7.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 6.4% across Colorado, on an EPA index of 6.7.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 562 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 11.6% of Parachute households have no vehicle (Colorado 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Parachute’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Parachute sits among U.S. towns of 1,000 to 1,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Columbine Valley CO | 1,684 | $250K | 0.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 317 | Aetna Estates CO | 1,010 | $75K | 1.1% | 0.5% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 572 | Perry Park CO | 1,570 | $158K | 3.2% | 2.5% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,937 | Nashville WI | 1,359 | $56K | 20.2% | 4.1% | 20% | D− |
| 4,938 | Astor FL | 1,391 | $57K | 19.7% | 3.2% | 2% | D− |
| 4,939 | Parachute CO | 1,366 | $59K | 27.5% | 18.7% | 8% | D− |
| 4,940 | St. Elmo IL | 1,213 | $45K | 27.8% | 7.4% | 11% | D− |
| 4,941 | Baraga MI | 1,746 | $44K | 17.2% | 1.5% | 42% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,400 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Parachute, the top three, the last and three more from Colorado.
How Parachute compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Battlement Mesa (6%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Parachute workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parachute | – | D− | B+ | 37 min | $58,778 |
| Battlement Mesa | 6% | C | D | 44 min | $76,152 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Parachute’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Parachute: questions
What is the median household income in Parachute?
$58,778 (±$16,117) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,470 across Colorado and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Parachute?
27.5%, against 9.4% across Colorado and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Parachute?
37 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Colorado and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Parachute work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Glenwood Springs (13%, 39 mi), Rifle (11%, 16 mi), Grand Junction (8%, 37 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Parachute walkable?
Parachute is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 6.7 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Parachute without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Parachute, from the people who make the trip.
More of Parachute
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.